The two Koreas agreed on Wednesday to hold fresh talks on their shuttered joint industrial park in Kaesong.

The two Koreas agreed on Wednesday to hold fresh talks on their shuttered joint industrial park in Kaesong.

The agreement came after Pyongyang offered what Seoul called "forward-looking"proposals for reopening the complex.

In what it called a "bold and magnanimous" gesture, the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) issued Wednesday a statement promising total access to Kaesong and guaranteeing the future attendance of its workers and the safety of all South Koreans working there.

Crucially, it also said both North and South should prevent any future closure by agreeing to ensure that normal operations are never again "affected by any situation in any case".

Earlier, Seoul had announced it would start paying compensation to South Korean firms locked out of Kaesong since April -- a move widely seen as presaging a permanent withdrawal.

The two Koreas have already held six rounds of fruitless talks aimed at resuming operations at the complex, and the South warned Sunday that it was "reaching the limit" of its patience.

The main sticking point has been the South's insistence that the North provide a binding guarantee that it would not unilaterally close Kaesong in the future if the South Korean-funded park is reopened.

For its part, Seoul responded positively and agreed to the CPRK's proposal for a seventh round of talks on August 14.
"We consider the North has come up with a forward-looking attitude," said Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-Suk.

"We hope this meeting will be able to resolve the Kaesong issue and work out measures aimed at ensuring the normalization and further development of Kaesong," Kim said.